This invention relates to an electrical connector, and in particular, to a wire termination block utilizing a plurality of slotted beam contacts for a 110-style connector.
The 110-style connector is frequently used in the telephone industry to electrically interconnect a set of first conductors such as insulated wires to a set of second conductors such as conductive paths on a printed circuit board. Alternatively, the second set of conductors can be a second set of insulated wires. The connector includes a dielectric body and a plurality of slotted beam insulation displacement contacts retained within the body. In use, one or more insulated wires are positioned with one insulated wire above each slotted beam contact. A force is applied to press each insulated wire into a slot of the corresponding slotted beam contact. The slotted beam contact cuts through the insulation and grasps the metal wire therein thereby making good electrical contact with the wire. The body is usually made of a plastic material.
When manufacturing the 110-style connector, each slotted beam contact is inserted into a cavity in the plastic body and must be retained therein to prevent dislodgement during use and handling, preferably allowing minimum movement of the contact within the body cavity. Holding the slotted beam contacts securely within the body cavity can be a particular problem because of the large force required to press the insulated wires into the slots of the slotted beam contacts. If the slotted beam contacts can move too much within the body cavity once inserted and secured therein, their movement can make difficult alignment of the wires with the slots of the contacts.
In the past, the slotted beam contacts have been held within their body cavities by various means. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,964,812 and 5,645,445, the slotted beam contact and the body each have an opening. Once the slotted beam contact is within the body cavity, a pin is inserted in the aligned contact and body openings to hold the contact in place. This must be done for each slotted beam contact and involves an extra part and manufacturing step, thus increasing the cost of manufacturing the connector. Further, the pin allows the slotted beam contact to move within the body cavity more than desirable.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,404, the body cavity for each slotted beam contact has a thin walled section that is engaged with a tool after the contact is in the body cavity to sever three sides of the wall section and bend it into engagement with the contact to hold the contact within the body cavity. Again, this involves an extra step and increases cost.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,067, each slotted beam contact has a tab portion that is bent using a punch tool after the contact is inserted into the body cavity to engage the tab portion with the body to retain the contact within the body cavity. This also involves an extra step and increases cost, and the contact still may move within the body cavity more than desired.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,264, each slotted beam contact has a pair of mounting arms that extend into slots in the body when the contact is inserted into the body cavity. Somewhat similarly, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,496,522 and 6,050,842, the slotted beam contacts each have a pair of spring tabs that extend into corresponding apertures in the body when the contact is inserted into the body cavity.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,584, each slotted beam contact has a pair of opposed recesses and within the body cavity for the contact there are a pair of protrusions that snap fit into the recesses to hold the contact in place.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,837, each slotted beam contact has a plurality of bosses that deform the plastic walls of the body when the contact is press-fit into the body cavity and thereby grasp the walls to hold the contact in place.
While a variety of manners exist to retain a slotted beam contact within its body cavity, none retain the contact as securely as desired to prevent dislodgement while still allowing quick, easy and inexpensive manufacturing of the connector, using rapid automatic assembly with minimal parts and assembly steps, and allowing minimum movement of the contact within the body cavity.
The present invention is embodied in an electrical connector of the type for electrically interconnecting a first set of insulated wire conductors with a second set of conductors. The connector includes a body having a plurality of contact cavities therein, each contact cavity having an open first end for receiving one of the insulated wire conductors of the first set of conductors and an opposite second end. The connector further includes a plurality of insulation penetrating beam contacts, each contact sized to be received within one of the contact cavities. Each contact has a first end portion located at the first cavity end and an opposite second end portion located at the second cavity end of the contact cavity in which the contact is positioned. The first end portion is configured to displace the insulation and make electrical contact with the wire of one of the insulated wire conductors of the first set of conductors.
The connector also includes a plurality of resilient spring arms. Each spring arm is positioned adjacent to one of the contact cavities, and has a first portion attached to the body and a resiliently movable second portion. One of the second end portion of the contact and the second portion of the spring arm has a protrusion and the other has a receiving aperture receiving therein the protrusion when the contact is in the contact cavity at which the spring arm is positioned with the receiving aperture in registration with the protrusion. In the illustrated embodiment, the first portion of the spring arm is a resilient hinge portion attached to the body and the second portion is a free end portion. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the spring arm includes a mid-portion between the hinge portion and the free end portion. The receiving aperture is in the mid-portion of the spring arm, and the protrusion is on the second end portion of the contact and projects outwardly therefrom. In addition, the free end portion of each arm has a ramped portion positioned to engage the protrusion on the contact in the contact cavity at which the arm is positioned as the contact is inserted into the contact cavity from the open contact insertion end thereof.
In the illustrated embodiment, the second cavity end of the contact cavity is open. Further, the spring arm second portion is positioned to contact and be resiliently moved in response to the spring arm second portion engaging the contact by an amount sufficient to permit insertion of the contact into the contact cavity through the open second cavity end to position the receiving aperture in registration with the protrusion. The spring arm second portion is sufficiently resiliently movable to further allow the spring arm second portion to be resiliently moved by an amount sufficient to disconnect the protrusion from the receiving aperture to permit the removal of the contact from the contact cavity through the open second cavity end.
In the illustrated embodiment, the second cavity end is open, and the second end portion of each contact includes a terminal portion extending out of the open second cavity end and beyond the body. Further, the illustrated embodiment has the body and the spring arms formed with a one-piece construction.
The illustrated embodiment is constructed for use with a test probe. The receiving apertures are through-holes in the spring arms having an outward opening sized to receive the test probe sufficiently far therein to make electrical contact with the contact in the contact cavity at which the spring arm with the through-hole is positioned.